The most powerful chef in America

About the time Coudreaut joined McDonald's, the company began emerging from a string of negative publicity. Eric Schlosser was called a modern day Upton Sinclair for his 2001 book, "Fast Food Nation," in which the Atlantic Monthly reporter blasted McDonald's for its working conditions, the unsanitary meatpacking plants it employs and its contribution to the obesity epidemic. A year later, McDonald's posted its first quarterly loss in company history -- $344 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. Then in 2004, the Oscar-nominated documentary "Supersize Me" followed filmmaker Morgan Spurlock as he dined for 30 days on nothing but McDonald's, to disastrous health results.

Coudreaut says he has not, and does not plan to read the book or watch the film.

"Our guests are voting," he says. "We're serving 2 million more people now than two years ago. Those are the people I listen to."

Still, for all the criticism it receives, some credit Coudreaut and the company for evolving the menu that reflect healthier, modern lifestyles.

"It's advantageous for a major player like McDonald's to take an active role in trying to improve the options that exist in the fast food environment," said Linda Van Horn, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University. "Providing an alternative that's presumably healthier and less high-caloric is definitely a step in the right direction."

Says Coudreaut: "Our restaurant today looks so much different than it was five years ago. I really don't know where we're going, and that's the fun part."

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Who: Dan Coudreaut

Job: Director of culinary innovation, McDonald's U.S.A.

Age: 41

Home: Naperville

Family: Wife, Kim; daughter, Danielle, 5; son, Chase, 2

What his kids order at McDonald's: "Danielle likes Chicken McNuggets, Chicken Selects and Sprite. Chase likes the french fries."

Culinary hero: Daniel Boulud, the renowned French chef in New York City.

Consider the apple.When the fruit and walnut salad debuted in May 2005, McDonald's immediately became the No. 1 restaurant seller of fresh apples, using nearly 55 million pounds of apples that year, according to the U.S. Apple Association.

Or the almond.

Even though McDonald's usage of Blue Diamond almonds in its Asian salad only represents half a percent of Blue Diamond's total sales, the residual effects of brand recognition jumped 12 percent in one year, according to internal marketing studies. "What it represents much more significantly is the exposure of our brand. It's an acknowledgment of Middle America's acceptance of our product," said John O'Shaughnessy, general manager of consumer products at Blue Diamond. "McDonald's legitimizes the use of an ingredient. It's an endorsement of a product."

Edamame, a soybean popular in Japan, was elevated into "mainstream" status after McDonald's also began using it in its Asian salad.

"Consumers have really gotten a lot more acquainted with edamame," said Linda Funk, executive director of The Soyfoods Council. "Having it in McDonald's salads has made all the difference in the world."

When Coudreaut proposed edamame, it was an ingredient that some executives at McDonald's were skeptical about.

"Everybody was like, 'Wow, here we go with the chef ideas again.' It was a little bit out there," said Deborah McDaniel, Coudreaut's boss. "But it was about what his visions were for flavor and textures, and it all just made sense."